Human-autonomy teaming interface design considerations for multi-unmanned vehicle control

Future applications are envisioned in which a single human operator manages multiple heterogeneous unmanned vehicles (UVs) by working together with an autonomy teammate that consists of several intelligent decision-aiding agents/services. This article describes recent advancements in developing a new interface paradigm that will support human-autonomy teaming for air, ground, and surface (sea craft) UVs in defence of a military base. Several concise and integrated candidate control station interfaces are described by which the operator determines the role of autonomy in UV management using an adaptable automation control scheme. An extended play calling based control approach is used to support human-autonomy communication and teaming in managing how UV assets respond to potential threats (e.g. asset allocation, routing, and execution details). The design process for the interfaces is also described including: analysis of a base defence scenario used to guide this effort, consideration of ecological interface design constructs, and generation of UV and task-related pictorial symbology.